


To Be Young and In Love

by brookeswritings



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brookeswritings/pseuds/brookeswritings
Summary: After meeting in a constitutional law class, Emily and JJ slowly start to become friends as they bond over a semester of male business majors, projects, and late nights studying alone together at the library.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia/Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	1. I’ve No Language Left To Say It, All I Do Is Crave To Her

JJ had been running late to class, so it was dumb of her to even try to get coffee in the twenty minutes she had between practice and her first class, but it was a necessity and she needed as much caffeine as she could get for the constitutional law course she was in. At least, she was stressing about being late until she saw the prettiest girl also waiting for her drink, the soft lights of the coffee shop illuminating her black hair and JJ could see the sharp line of her eyeliner as she stood glancing down at her phone. JJ wasn’t normally one for following victim to the stereotypical sapphic yearning, but a girl could definitely dream. She was thankfully yanked out of her own mind as both the girl and her name were called out and her hand accidentally brushed against the others.

“Oh, sorry,” the girl smiled at her, JJ stammered out a response and met her brown eyes as the girl turned and disappeared out of the busy coffee shop.

No, JJ thought to herself, I am not going to fall in love with a straight girl just because she has nice eyeliner and a pretty smile. JJ shook herself out of her thoughts and quickly made her way to class. Although, upon arriving, it seemed as though the universe was playing a game with her and the pretty girl was sitting in the first row of seats. JJ found a seat just as the professor began to pull up the syllabus on the overhead.

Once the professor made everyone go around and start introductions, JJ made a point to pay attention to the pretty girl’s name which happened to be Emily Prentiss who was also a junior. After that though, JJ immediately zoned out and began 

After not being able to focus for the entirety of syllabus day, JJ finally zoned back in once the professor mentioned having assigned groups on the canvas page. “Now, if you look in the groups portion of canvas, you’ll find your assigned group that you will be working with for the rest of the semester. Email me with any issues, but make sure to meet up with them before the end of the day. Your first case review will be due this Friday.”

The universe, being the terribly ironic entity that it is, had set JJ up in a group with Emily and three other boys. After breaking into the groups, JJ had come to the conclusion she hated all male business majors especially as they kept talking over her and Emily.

“Okay, I can make a groupme and then we can meet up sometime this week to actually start working on it,” Emily said. Everyone in the group nodded in agreement. 

Once the groupme was made, the group parted ways and JJ went over the last twenty minutes, trying to remember if there were any signals that Emily was giving off. To start off her nails were short, much shorter than any straight girl kept them. There were also the docs and straight girls usually didn’t wear docs and mini skirts, unless they were ‘indie’ but that had to be a signal, right? 

Trying to forget her encounter, JJ spent the rest of the day trying to create some sort of routine for the new semester when she was hit with a notification from the groupme from Emily who was asking about schedules and everyone’s availability. This was going to be a long semester if she just spent the entirety of it yearning for a girl who she has seen twice and only knows the name of. 


	2. There's No You, Except In My Dreams Tonight

The next class felt like it took forever, but finally Wednesday came and JJ was unfortunately a sweaty mess in her work out clothes because she didn’t plan properly. The professor didn’t add to her pain as he announced that today would just be group work and that was the most tragic thing she heard considering how unattractive she looked.

“Alright, so did you guys do the reading?” asked Grant, one of the boys. 

“I did, but I don’t think it was actually useful in helping the paper,” Emily responded, JJ was a little too focused on how pretty she looked today in her skirt and sweater.

Although, on the other end of the spectrum, Emily was having heart palpitations trying to focus on the work while the hot athletic girl was sitting with her sports bra peeking out from her zip up and her blonde hair up in a ponytail. A high femme could only handle so much before she broke. The class ended quickly, but not before Emily decided to take matters into her own hands as soon as the boys had already packed up and left.

“So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out and have a study date. You know since it’s still the first week, we could start off strong together,” Emily asked, voice raising a bit in hopes that JJ wouldn’t think that she was weird.

“Uh sure, I have practice in the mornings, but we could totally do it later in the day.” Emily was filled with joy as JJ smiled at her.

“Practice?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m on the women’s soccer team and they like to have us run drills first thing in the morning, but I have a few hours before my next class if you wanted to go get coffee with me,” JJ answered, heart beating faster at the thought of getting to spend actual time with the other girl.

“Oh yeah, I would love to,” Emily said, hoping that JJ would understand the signals she was desperately trying to give off with her short nails and doc martens.

Walking together proved to be only slightly awkward as they tried to make small talk without either one trying to seem desperate.

“So what’s your major?” asked JJ.

“Political science with a concentration in international relations, how about you?”

“Oh no way, I’m actually an international relations major!”

Thankfully coffee was looking up once there was some common ground to cover.

“Wait really? Did you take social statistics with Prof Meyer then?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, he was the worst, I swear he’s only still teaching due to tenure,” JJ replied.

“No he definitely is, every class he would just come in and speak with the most monotone voice and complain that we weren’t engaging,” Emily laughed before going to mock the professor’s voice, “now you know in your careers you will want to actually talk to your coworkers, so it’s important that you guys actually answer me.”

“You didn’t have to remind me,” JJ squealed, her hand brushing against Emily’s arm. Emily could feel her cheeks lightly heat up and hoped that JJ wouldn’t notice, but JJ was looking at her with a smile on her lips and something comparable to fondness in her eyes.

Suddenly, coffee dates were going to be Emily’s favorite part of this semester.

-

Coffee dates became a regular after class thing for the two girls, both yearning so obviously, but oblivious to each other. After coffee dates, Emily brought up study dates because it just made the most sense since they were in similar concentrations.

Settling into a study room with enough coffee to keep them awake for a week, both girls got to work, but like every college kid they were both distracted after almost two hours of working. 

“So, what are you working on?” JJ asked as Emily was just staring into her laptop screen like it would somehow give her the secrets of the universe if she would just simply stare harder.

“Is it not obvious from me doing nothing,” Emily said, continuing on to say, “I’m currently in public bureaucracy in modern society and I think I’m just too tired to actually write anything down, what about you?”

“Macroeconomics, but I also think I’m way too tired to do anything tonight. Is any of yours due tonight?”

“No, is yours?”

“Nope! Would you want to go grab something to eat?” JJ hopefully asked, threading her hands into her hoodie as she waited for Emily to respond.

“Yeah, I would be down, I know a really good deli that’s only a couple blocks if you would wanna walk,” Emily suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” JJ smiled because if she couldn’t tell Emily how much she liked spending time with her, she could just hang out with her more and hopefully Emily would get the hint. Although, she still wasn’t sure if she even liked women.

Dinner would hopefully go well and even if she couldn’t tell Emily how she felt, she still had her dreams at the end of the day, the ones that included a future in an apartment with Emily with a cat and a successful career, maybe some plants too in order to really get the sapphic experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! come and chat with me on my writing tumblr @/brookeswritings


	3. For Her? I Am But a Humble Servant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so sorry for this taking so long!

It was halfway through the semester when JJ invited Emily out for drinks with her friends Spencer and Penelope to which she very eagerly agreed to. That was how Emily ended up, in her apartment, at 9pm on a Saturday, struggling trying to figure out what to wear. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, but she obviously wanted to look good. The options were overwhelming and she was really only dressing up to impress JJ. There was also the question of how much did she want to drink tonight and what was appropriate, especially because they were all underaged and there was a bit of a risk in that.

Once Emily finally chose something and got ready, it was nearing 11:30 and she got the text that JJ was on her way so that they could pregame at Penelope and Spencer’s together.

“Hey,” JJ greeted when she got into her car. “You look really good tonight.”

Freaking out a bit that JJ had noticed, Emily stuttered out, “thank you, I really like your button up, I uh love the necklace.”

The gay panic had definitely settled in, but JJ just smiled and thanked her, but Emily was a bit flustered at how far down her shirt was unbuttoned and the chain that was hanging from her neck. What could she say, she was but a simple lesbian and the way JJ’s hands looked on the wheel? The way she placed her arm on the back of Emily’s seat so she could reverse? Emily had no choice, but to want a little bit more. Although, the ride to the pregame was tense as Emily spent the entire time fidgeting with her nails and stressing over things out of her control, while JJ spent the entire time fiddling with the music selection and hoping that that made up for the silence. The silence that filled in between the pop songs was wrapped in a coat of awkwardness and anxious energy, because Emily couldn’t stop focusing on how important it was that JJ’s friends liked her and how vital it was to make a first impression. JJ, on the other hand, wasn’t worried about Penelope and Spencer liking Emily, of course they’d like her, she was more focused on how tonight would go. 

However, when they finally arrived, JJ did turn to Emily and said, “so I’m really glad you came tonight, I think it’s gonna be fun.”

Emily gave a small smile and responded, “I think I’ll enjoy it, I haven’t been to a party that wasn’t filled with business majors and other pretentious political science majors since I was still rocking the trad goth look at 17.”

“Oh no, we absolutely cannot have that,” JJ said. “How did you survive? I could never pretend that business was interesting. Or oh my God, did they try to explain the stock market to you?”

“Every time and every time I would just ask why we couldn’t print more money since it’s all made up anyways, just so I could see their disbelief,” Emily giggled. It was conversations like this that made talking to JJ so much easier, when she could make her laugh and feel more relaxed.

There wasn’t enough time for Emily to keep wondering about the what if’s with her friendship with JJ because JJ was already knocking at the door. The door was opened by a very bubble blonde with butterfly clips in her hair and tittering in heels while pouring out a line of shots. Behind her was a brown haired boy who was in the middle of putting on lipgloss. 

“Oh hello, you must be Emily, is it cool if we hug? I’ve had a few shots and I think hugging seems appropriate,” the blonde introduced. “Oh and I’m Penelope and behind me is Spencer.”

“Uh, yeah, a hug is okay,” Emily said, her nerves calming down a bit. This had to be a good sign, right? You didn’t hug people you got bad vibes from, that was just a given.

“Hi,” Spencer said as Penelope pulled her into a hug and then hugged JJ. He continued on to ask, “so we currently have vodka and redbull, but there’s also some seltzer in the fridge.”

“Oh! And Derek will be over in a bit, but then I think we’re gonna hit up that one dive bar, they didn’t ID last time,” Penelope said, making her way back to the kitchen to get a shot. “But Derek is 21, so worst case scenario, we just party here.”

“Who’s Derek?” Emily whispered to JJ, but Spencer got to it first.

“Derek, Penelope, and I are all currently dating,” Spencer said, a small smile forming on his lips.

“Then I can’t wait to meet him,” Emily said.

“You’ll love him,” Penelope said. “He looks like one of those jerky athletic guys, but he’s really sweet. But anyways, here you go, on three everyone is drinking.”

Quickly downing her shot, Emily had finally decided that she wasn’t going to freak herself out more tonight and just focus on having a good night. Focusing on the whole just being gals with a pal with JJ and enjoying how nice JJ’s friends were being with her. She knew it sounded a bit pathetic, but even being out in college had not allowed her to branch out and befriend other queer folk, so being around people who wouldn’t judge her when she came out to them felt nice. After years of befriending just connections that her mother had made for her and would ‘best suit her interests later’ it was very welcoming to walk into Spencer and Penelope’s apartment and just be welcomed with open arms.

Soon, Derek joined them and greeted her with the most frat boy-esque handshake and a, “oh you’re the girl our Jayje has been talking about?”

Emily had to stifle back a laugh as JJ turned bright red and tried to sputter out excuses. Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance? She knew she had to be gay, no straight girl walks around in a sports bra, a chain, and quite possibly the worst case of either atheleisure or thrift store button ups that she had ever seen.

“JJ talks about me?” Emily asked, she didn’t want to seem too eager, but there was a knowing grin on Derek’s face when he launched into a story about how JJ met a really cool girl in her Constitutional Law course and how everyone just has to meet her.

The night actually went pretty smoothly, until JJ and Emily were alone together, having decided that there needed to be a bit of an adventure and separated from the group in order to go on a walk. It probably wasn’t the smartest decision to have made, the two of them way past tipsy and fulfilling the most primal drunk girl desire of running away from the group. 

Emily, though, was a bit of a wreck. Every time that her hands so much as grazed JJ’s she was intently aware of the situation. She tried to slow her breathing down and make it seem like she wasn’t suffering from an intense case of gay panic, but JJ didn’t seem to notice either way and that was enough to momentarily stop her anxiety. She was too focused on adamantly talking with her hands about the US women’s soccer team and the inequality between them and the men’s team. Emily just looked at her like she was the moon and she was just a pious servant grateful for the opportunity to be so close. It didn’t matter that she had no knowledge of any sport, it was just satisfying to be with JJ in a manner that wasn’t focused on group work or study dates.

“So, Emily,” JJ said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Would you want to stay the night with me? My apartment is just a block away and I wouldn’t want you to get home alone at three in the morning.”

“Sure, that’s probably for the best, I live on the other side of campus.” Emily was confident that perhaps this could be it, until her nerves betrayed her and she blurted out, “I could totally sleep on your couch.”

She didn’t see the slight disappointment in JJ’s eyes, but she did receive a, “yeah that sounds good.”

Neither girl would notice the flicker of sadness in each other’s eyes as the night came to an end.

**Author's Note:**

> Come and chat with me on my tumblr @/brookeswritings or add me on discord brooke#7666! Thank you for reading, sorry this first bit of set up is short. I'm sure once I start a schedule and start getting into plot, it will be longer :)


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